I watch the TV as the kicking unit for the 49ers jogs onto the field, then check my phone for the fantasy football score. I’m losing bad and my opponent has David Akers, the kicker for the 49ers, and he has already split the uprights with two 40+ yard field goals, giving him more points than one of my running backs. The field goal is an impossible distance; 63 yards separate the holder from the goal posts.
The ball is snapped and he launches it. It travels the whole distance but I can tell its falling. I know it’s going to be close but all optimistic thoughts are erased from my mind as the ball bounces off the the bottom post with a thud that echoes throughout the silent stadium and travels forward miraculously. A couple inches shorter and the ball would have bounced back. But no, David Akers tied an NFL record for longest field goal, fulfilling his dreams, and crushing mine. This seemed to be the trend with my team this weekend, always close, but by either a stroke of luck or an act of the fantasy football gods, I would always end up a little short.
Over half of my players scored less than they were projected to. My wide receivers were projected at a combined 30.4 points, they scored a combined 12 points. David Akers scored 17. My two wide receivers were out scored by a kicker, making this one of the most embarrassing games of my fantasy career.
Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Its hard for wide receivers to get points when the ball is only thrown to them a handful of times in a game. And its hard for a running back to gain substantial yardage if his offensive line has a bad day. But these are the realities you have to face when playing fantasy. You can do everything right and you can still lose.
It’s just week one, so hopefully next week I can get better luck. No one on my bench scored more than a starting player so there was honestly nothing else I could have done. My opponents players just had a better day than mine. Hopefully I can make the right picks this week and they go out and win me the game.
